Integral umbrella case



April 23, 1968 M. P. LYNCH 3,379,201

INTEGRAL UMBRELLA'CASE v Filed Oct. 22, 1965 INVENTOR MATTHEW P. mm

United States Patent 3,379,201 INTEGRAL UMBRELLA CASE Matthew P. Lynch,111 Willowbrook Ave., Clifton Heights, Pa. 19018 Filed Oct. 22, 1965,Ser. No. 501,505 1 Claim. (Cl. 135-33) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apanel of stretchable material is secured along the radius of an umbrellacanopy. The panel is stretched laterally in order to circumscribe thecollapsed canopy and secured in encasing relationship.

The present invention relates to umbrellas, and in particular toumbrellas having an integral case structure for enclosing the umbrellain its collapsed condition.

The use of a case or sheath means for enclosing collapsed umbrellas hasbeen known for many years. Usually the case or sheath is separate fromthe umbrella and must be removed therefrom and replaced before and aftereach use.

Since the sheath must be removed before the umbrella can be opened andafter use the umbrella is usually left open to dry, the sheath that wastaken off is set aside somewhere and all too often left behind and lost.The logical solution is simply to carry the case in ones pocket when itis not being used but this is such a nuisance that the use of the casein many instances is simply discontinued, desirable though its use isfrom the standpoint of appearance, and protection of the umbrella canopyfrom damage and dirt while it is being transported in its collapsedcondition.

This invention proposes to obviate the difliculties outlined above byproviding an umbrella case that is attached to and travels with anumbrella, while not interfering in any way with its normal use and notdetracting from the appearance of the umbrella when it is in theextended or open position.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an umbrellaconstruction including as an integral part thereof a panel of materialwhich is used as a case for enclosing the canopy of the umbrella whenthe canopy is in its collapsed condition.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an umbrella with anintegral case which is made to enclose the length of the collapsedcanopy of the umbrella merely by manipulation of a fastener such as azipper.

It is still further an object of this invention to provide an integralzipper closed case construction for an umbrella that is the ultimate insimplicity, utility and ease of operation.

In an umbrella having a collapsible canopy, an integral case comprisingan elongated panel of stretchable material secured along itslongitudinal axis to a radii of the canopy, the stretchable panel havinga normal variable unstretched width less than the circumference of thecollapsed canopy. A fastener is secured to the longitudinal edges of thepanel and when activated the fastener causes the panel to stretch aboutthe circumference of the collapsed canopy while simultaneously holdingthe longitudinal edges of the panel in encasing juxtaposition, therebyproviding a case for the collapsed canopy.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings which depict an illustrativeembodiment of the invention:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of the umbrella and its attached casemade according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a detail view of the tip end of the closure fastener of thecase;

3,379,201 Patented Apr. 23, 1968 FIGURE 3 is a detail view taken along3-3 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 shows the umbrella collapsed with the case enclosing thecanopy, and

FIGURE 5 shows a different embodiment of the umbrella and integral case.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 3, an umbrella 10 of conventionalconstruction is illustrated and includes a canopy 12, which is of onepiece construction as illustrated, but which may be seamed as it oftenis in umbrella construction; rib elements 14 which are shown U shapedbut which may be any shape used in umbrella construction, and a shaft16, having a handle 18 on one end, and a tip portion 20 at its other endextending beyond its intersection with the canopy 12. As is usually thecase the ribs 14 of the umbrella include free ends 15 and are pivotallysecured at their opposite ends to the shaft 16 at the point on the shaftwhere it intersects the canopy.

The umbrella 10 is provided with an elongated panel 22 which is disposedas seen best in FIGURES 1 and 3 so that its longitudinal axis 23 liesalong and is secured to a radius of said canopy 12. The panel 22 extendssubstantially the full length of the rib 14 in the embodiment of FIGURES1 through 4 and according to the preferred embodiment is provided with aconventional zipper fastener 24 (see FIGURE 2) having an operatinghandle 25 and having its two halves 24A and 24B extending the fulllength of the unsupported side edges of case 22. The zipper 24 is sewedor otherwise attached to the panel 22 so that its permanently closed end26 is disposed on the side of the tip 20 of shaft 16 that is oppositefrom the side thereof that the panel 22 is disposed. This is clearlyshown in FIGURE 2, and is necessary to enable the zipper to be properlyorientated with respect to the umbrella when the panel is to be wrappedabout the collapsed canopy and closed thereabout to form an umbrellacase. It is also necessary as shown in FIGURE 2, that each half 24A and24B of zipper 24 be rotated about its longitudinal axis one-halfrevolution degrees) from its normal position as shown at 27 and 28before it is sewn or otherwise attached to the free edges of panel 22 toenable the zipper halves to be properly orientated for closing the panelto form the final case as shown in FIGURE 4. The reason for this becomesobvious if one bears in mind that the free longitudinal edges of thepanel 22 are brought around the umbrella and its shaft for forming thecase as seen in FIGURE 4, and when secured together the zipper edges 24Aand 24B are actually disposed 180 degrees around from their position inFIGURE 1 relative to the shaft 16 of the umbrella. By securing thezipper 24 to the edges of the panel 22 with the permanently joined endof the zipper on one side of the tip 20 and the zipper halves eachrotated 180 degrees relative to their joined end orientation andfastened to the panel 22 on the other side of the shaft tip, the zipperwill be perfectly aligned relative to the umbrella and panel when it isdesired to close the edges of the panel together to form the case overthe collapsed canopy. It is desired to point out several dimensional andphysical characteristics of the panel 22 which are incorporated in thepreferred embodiment of this invention. The panel 22 is generallytapezoidal or triangular in shape as clearly illustrated in FIGURE 1,with the wider end thereof disposed adjacent the free ends of the ribs14 of the umbrella and the narrow end thereof adjacent the tip 20 of theumbrella shaft. The reason for the wider end of panel 22 being disposednear the free ends of ribs 14 is quite obvious since when the umbrellais collapsed, the panel must enclose more canopy material at this end ofthe umbrella than at the tip end. The panel 22 may be fabricated fromany material, natural or synthetic and preferably is a stretchablematerial such as Lycra a material described in US. Patent No. 3,097,192that is capable of being extended about the collapsed canopy to enablethe formation of the case itself.

A material that can be made luminescent is preferred, but any materialcapable of stretching and returning to its original shape can be used.As will be obvious, if the panel fabric or material is capable ofstretching, then the panel itself in its open unstretched condition neednot be as large as a panel of non-stretch material, making for a neaterappearing umbrella and panel assembly when the canopy is extended.

In use, when it is desired to enclose the umbrella canopy within its owncase forming panel 22, the canopy is collapsed in the usual manner, sothat the ribs 14 lie flat against and parallel to the shaft 16. Holdingthe ribs and loose canopy material as close to the shaft as possible,the zipper 24 is manipulated to start closing the case forming panel atits end closest to the shaft tip 20. By pulling the zipper with one handlongitudinally and radially along the abutting panel edges, the closingoperation is completed without danger of catching the canopy in thezipper and the canopy is contained within its own case as shown inFIGURE 4-. Opening of the case involves simply opening the zipper orother closure. The umbrella canopy is then immediately ready for use andno separate case must be contended with.

For the sake of convenience snap fasteners 30 or the like may beprovided to hold down the unsupported areas of the wider end of panel 22when the umbrella is extended as shown in FIGURE 1.

A difierent embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURE 5. Thearrangement features a cover panel 32 formed substantially in the samemanner as the panel 22 of the embodiment of the other figures of thedrawings, and is attached to an umbrella canopy in substantially thesame manner, that is, along a longitudinal axis of the panel. Howeverthe cover 32 is specifically arranged to be zippered from the free endsof the ribs 14 towards the tip 20 of the umbrella shaft 16. To enablethis, a zipper closure 34 is provided which includes zipper halves 35and 36 secured along the unsupported longitudinal edges of the panel 32,and a handle 38 for enabling manipulation of the zipper. The zipper isclosed by starting it in the area of the free ends of the ribs of theumbrella and pulling the handle 38 longitudinally and radially towardsthe tip 26 of the umbrella while the panel 32 is guided about thecollapsed canopy.

While a zipper closure fastener has been shown in the drawings forjoining the edges of panels 22 together for forming the case for theumbrella, it is to be understood that any suitable fastener or fastenerscapable of holding the longitudinal side edges 24A and 24B 'of the paneltogether when the panel has been wrapped about the collapsed canopy forforming the case could be used instead of the zipper. For example, aplurality of clips, snaps, buckles or magnets (not shown) couldconceivably be used for this function.

While I have described representative examples of the invention, it isto be understood that this invention includes all modifications andequivalents which fall within the scope of the claim, as set forthbelow:

I claim:

1. An umbrella including a shaft having a tip portion, a plurality ofrib elements pivotally secured to and about said shaft adjacent to itstip portion, and a canopy supported by and secured to said rib elements,the improvement comprising an integral case for said umbrella canopywhen collapsed, said case comprising: an elongated panel extendingsubstantially along the radius of and secured along its longitudinalaxis to said canopy, said panel being formed from an elastic materialstretchable in a direction normal to its longitudinal axis and saidpanel in its unstretched normal condition being of a width less than thecircumference of said canopy when collapsed,

the width of said panel varying along its longitudinal axis inaccordance with the circumference of said collapsed canopy, and aclosure means comprising a zipper fastener including a pair of zipperhalves joined to each other at one end adjacent said shaft tip portion,said zipper halves being secured along a major portion of their lengthto the longitudinal side edges of said panel and being unsecured to theumbrella structure along a minor portion of their length adjacent to andincluding their joined end, said unsecured portion of said zipper isrotated approximately 180 degrees about its longitudinal axis relativeto said secured portion of said zipper and disposed on the opposite sideof said shaft from said panel, whereby the closure of said zipperfastener stretches said panel about said collapsed canopy encasing saidcanopy while simultaneously holding the longitudinal side edges of saidpanel in encasing juxtaposition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 148,573 3/1874 Moschowitz 135--33574,436 1/1897 Lawrence 135-33 1,381,043 6/1921 Weinberg et al 135332,105,172 1/1938 Voelker 13533 2,468,240 4/ 1949 Schmidt 135-33 DAVID J.VVILLIAMOWSKI, Prinzaiy Examiner.

PETER M. CAUN, Examiner.

